Zambrano's arm angle

[Chocolate Milk]

This has been talked about a lot around here. Zambrano mentioned it after the game.

 

''You don't like to see those walks with a lead,'' Piniella said, ''but the bullpen made the six runs stand up.''

 

But only after Zambrano righted himself with a higher arm angle.

 

''My arm was down the first few innings,'' he said. ''After I made a pitch to Ryan Zimmerman [a leadoff walk in the third], I told myself, ''Come on, get your arm up.'

 

''It was just one bad inning,'' he said of the first, which included a leadoff triple by Felipe Lopez, a double by Ryan Church, Kearns' homer and two walks. ''Every year you have things you have to correct and things you have to do differently. This year, I have to work on the first few innings and be aggressive.

 

It sounds like the Cubs know about it and are trying to fix it. The question is: Why is he doing it?

 

Link

[Jon]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

 

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

[Magnetic Curses]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

 

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

dropping down can be effective if it's not done with much consistency. i've seen z use it to his advantage before.

[Backtobanks]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

Why should you try to fix it when one of the top pitchers in the league has turned into the team's worst starter? One reason you might want to fix it is that the lower arm angle makes breaking balls break horizontally (staying in the same plane) instead of vertically. Also, it's pretty obvious that Zambrano is walking quite a few more batters than he used to. Maybe you need to work on it Larry.

[seanimal]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

 

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

dropping down can be effective if it's not done with much consistency. i've seen z use it to his advantage before.

 

I agree for the most part. It's something that Jeff Weaver, when successful, is able to do effectively. For Zambrano, I think it's mostly a matter of being lazy. I mean, if the guy can notice that he's throwing out of the wrong slot and correct it just by adjusting mentally, you gotta think that the only reason it's happening is he's just letting his arm take the path of least resistance. That's my hypothesis anyhow.

[Magnetic Curses]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

 

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

dropping down can be effective if it's not done with much consistency. i've seen z use it to his advantage before.

 

I agree for the most part. It's something that Jeff Weaver, when successful, is able to do effectively. For Zambrano, I think it's mostly a matter of being lazy. I mean, if the guy can notice that he's throwing out of the wrong slot and correct it just by adjusting mentally, you gotta think that the only reason it's happening is he's just letting his arm take the path of least resistance. That's my hypothesis anyhow.

 

when he's doing it often, it's laziness. but i've seen him do it intentionally on occassion, sometimes successfully, sometimes, not. maybe he's trying to be cute.

 

generally when he's getting under his pitches, they go a long way.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

 

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

dropping down can be effective if it's not done with much consistency. i've seen z use it to his advantage before.

 

I agree for the most part. It's something that Jeff Weaver, when successful, is able to do effectively. For Zambrano, I think it's mostly a matter of being lazy. I mean, if the guy can notice that he's throwing out of the wrong slot and correct it just by adjusting mentally, you gotta think that the only reason it's happening is he's just letting his arm take the path of least resistance. That's my hypothesis anyhow.

 

good one

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I think he keeps dropping it because the shoulder is fatigued due to overuse or injury.

[seanimal]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

 

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

dropping down can be effective if it's not done with much consistency. i've seen z use it to his advantage before.

 

I agree for the most part. It's something that Jeff Weaver, when successful, is able to do effectively. For Zambrano, I think it's mostly a matter of being lazy. I mean, if the guy can notice that he's throwing out of the wrong slot and correct it just by adjusting mentally, you gotta think that the only reason it's happening is he's just letting his arm take the path of least resistance. That's my hypothesis anyhow.

 

good one

 

:lol:

 

I saw it happen. Once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v.s. the one and only, Chicago Cubs.

[Jehrico]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

Why should you try to fix it when one of the top pitchers in the league has turned into the team's worst starter? One reason you might want to fix it is that the lower arm angle makes breaking balls break horizontally (staying in the same plane) instead of vertically. Also, it's pretty obvious that Zambrano is walking quite a few more batters than he used to. Maybe you need to work on it Larry.

Zambrano has never been a great April pitcher, so it's difficult to differentiate how the angle is affecting him versus what other factors usually contribute to his April woes. I think you're overstating it when you say it's making his breaking balls break on a horizontal plane. It's not like he's dropping 90 degrees down into a sidearmer, and his problem isn't his breaking balls. He throws a sinking fastball that doesn't have the same action, plus he tends to leave more balls up when he drops down. That's the problem.

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

When the arm is down the hand tends to get under the baseball. It makes Z's breaking pitches spin more than break. It also tends to to flatten his fastball out and up in the zone.

 

By making the mental adjustment he is keeping his arm up, and more importantly, the hand on top of the baseball.

 

A quick experiment you can do at home.

 

Throw sidearm against a wall or to a friend. Throw the ball with the hand underneath the ball. You should notice a slingshot type of action. You should see a natural frisbie type of spin on the ball. (Make sure you finish the arm action. Dont short arm!!! The elbow will take alot of energy if you do.)

 

Now throw from the same arm slot but get your hand on top of the ball. You most likely will experience "turning the ball over", which will give you some natural movement, as you release and see natural downward movement. You should also see a more expected "baseball" rotation. Once again make sure you follow through with your arm and let the body decelerate it naturally.

[Mephistopheles]

in the past subconsciously dropping your arm angle could be signs of wear and tear on the shoulder. Just a thought.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

Why should you try to fix it when one of the top pitchers in the league has turned into the team's worst starter? One reason you might want to fix it is that the lower arm angle makes breaking balls break horizontally (staying in the same plane) instead of vertically. Also, it's pretty obvious that Zambrano is walking quite a few more batters than he used to. Maybe you need to work on it Larry.

Zambrano has never been a great April pitcher, so it's difficult to differentiate how the angle is affecting him versus what other factors usually contribute to his April woes. I think you're overstating it when you say it's making his breaking balls break on a horizontal plane. It's not like he's dropping 90 degrees down into a sidearmer, and his problem isn't his breaking balls. He throws a sinking fastball that doesn't have the same action, plus he tends to leave more balls up when he drops down. That's the problem.

 

Actually, he had a bad April last season, an ok one in 05 and a great April in 04 and 03.

[Balsa]

in the past subconsciously dropping your arm angle could be signs of wear and tear on the shoulder. Just a thought.

This is what worries me the most. He's had a gigantic workload at a young age, and I hope that this isn't just all those PAP catching up to him.

[Jehrico]

The Cubs know about it, but I don't know if they're trying to fix it. Rothschild said last week that it wasn't something that needed to be fixed since he's been doing it for a while.

But I'm glad Z realizes he's dropping down too much too often.

 

Why should you try to fix it when one of the top pitchers in the league has turned into the team's worst starter? One reason you might want to fix it is that the lower arm angle makes breaking balls break horizontally (staying in the same plane) instead of vertically. Also, it's pretty obvious that Zambrano is walking quite a few more batters than he used to. Maybe you need to work on it Larry.

Zambrano has never been a great April pitcher, so it's difficult to differentiate how the angle is affecting him versus what other factors usually contribute to his April woes. I think you're overstating it when you say it's making his breaking balls break on a horizontal plane. It's not like he's dropping 90 degrees down into a sidearmer, and his problem isn't his breaking balls. He throws a sinking fastball that doesn't have the same action, plus he tends to leave more balls up when he drops down. That's the problem.

 

Actually, he had a bad April last season, an ok one in 05 and a great April in 04 and 03.

05 was no good. He put up his second worse ERA of any month in april that year, 4.31 (not bad for some, not good for Zs standards). In 04, he wasn't bad (3.55), but comparatively speaking, April was again his second worse month, barely beating out August by only .07 runs on the ERA. If 07 follows trend, and I think it will, this will be 4 years in a row where April is either his worst or second worst month of the season.

[NCCubFan]

Why should you try to fix it when one of the top pitchers in the league has turned into the team's worst starter?

*cough* Wade Miller *cough*

[soccer10k]

Why should you try to fix it when one of the top pitchers in the league has turned into the team's worst starter?

*cough* Wade Miller *cough*

 

He's not our starter anymore. Not that I'm complaining or anything.

[DiamondMind]

I think he keeps dropping it because the shoulder is fatigued due to overuse or injury.

 

Yup. Me too.